So it looks like someone got tired of waiting for Nokia to release the long awaited (and arguably much needed) PR1.2 for the N900 and leaked it to the interwebs. Late last night, firmware build ‘RX-51_2009SE_10.2010.12-9_PR_COMBINED_MR0_ARM’ could be found on torrent and filesharing sites all over the web and many users (this writer included) have taken the plunge and flashed their N900 to see what all the fuss has been about. This is not the first time I’ve gotten my hands on an upcoming firmware update for a Nokia device early but I feel that I should place the same disclaimer on this update as I did on the N97’s v20 update. This update won’t turn your N900 into a whole new device that does things you couldn’t imagine your phone ever doing. No, unfortunately firmware updates don’t work that way. However, if you were looking for a lot of the annoying little bugs that you encounter daily on your N900 to be fixed, most of the built in applications to get updated, and a few new settings and features, you’re going to love this update.
After updating my N900, one of the first things I did was go back to an article I wrote 5 weeks ago about what needs to be addressed next for the N900 and take a look to see if Nokia took care of any of the things that I mentioned. Some things they got dead on, some things they didn’t touch, some things I didn’t see coming at all but am glad they are there so why don’t we deal with the updates in that order.
First of all (and probably the first thing you’ll notice when you get the update), there is no longer a ‘More…’ icon on the main menu. All of the applications that were considered secondary and all of the applications that you install can be found in main menu by scrolling down. This should make things a lot easier for anyone unfamiliar with Maemo and is picking up the device for the very first time. This actually took me a little while to get used to and I ended up opening the Settings menu inadvertently several times before finally getting comfortable with the fact that the ‘More…’ button is gone. You can also rearrange your menu screen now by long pressing any icon in the main menu.
I had previously mentioned that the Email app was crying out for a Search function but didn’t really require any other changes. Well they definitely added a Search function and they didn’t stop at the email app either. There is a search function almost EVERYWHERE on the device. Anywhere there is a list, you can slide open the keyboard and start typing to search within that list. This includes the Email app, Application Manager, Media Player and of course, in Contacts and Conversations which both already had this feature. There currently is no search feature in the Photos app, I’m guessing to keep the experience totally visual.
Shortly after I wrote my article regarding what I’d like to see next on the N900, I learned of the benefits of having a unified Inbox for email. As the number of email addresses I use with Nokia Messaging goes up (I’m up to 5 now), it’s becoming more imperative that I be able to view all of my new messages in a shorter period of time
There is an Email widget available for the homescreen now but I haven’t managed to get it working as of yet. It always shows 0 even when I have unread emails. I believe this is because I’m using Nokia Messaging. Can anybody confirm this? UPDATE: The email widget doesn’t work with Nokia Messaging, this has been confirmed in Bug report #10294 on the Maemo Community’s bug tracking forum, Bugzilla.
As previously noted, the virtual keyboard layout has changed but honestly, it still sucks so just leave it turned off.
Ovi Maps has been upgraded to version 3.0, no that does not mean that free Walk & Drive navigation has been added but it does mean that your N900 gets a GPS lock a lot quicker, even indoors, and gets a slightly cleaned up interface.
Small changes in the Media Player besides Search, the icon in the bottom right corner has changed from an EQ animation to a nice looking ‘Play’ button with a visualization when music is playing. Additionally, and I love this one, you can rewind or fast forward by holding your finger on the Previous/Next Track buttons.
I’ve found that there are paid apps in the Ovi Store now. Mostly personalization stuff and videos but paid apps nonetheless. You’ll also notice that the font in the Ovi Store has changed to Nokia’s company font.
Subtle changes to the web browser but I think they improve on perfection. The most noticeable is the back button in the bottom left corner of the taskbar that will actually take you back a page instead of bringing up your browsing history. The rest of the changes are in Settings menu, automatic screen rotation can be enabled and the action of the volume keys can be changed from zooming in and out to adjusting the volume of the device.
Still no video light in the camera but they have added a ‘Night video’ recording mode which is nothing more than the regular video recording mode with the shutter speed slowed down. Not cool Nokia, so not cool.
MyNokia can now be found in the Settings menu but since this is a service not offered in North America, I couldn’t tell you what it’s for.
VIDEO CALLING!!! That’s right, video calling has been enabled for both Skype and Google Talk. Camera quality from the front facing cam isn’t the greatest (which is to be expected from a VGA cam) and you need a fair bit of light in the room that you’re in but it works. Made a 20 minute test call to a friend in Australia over Wi-Fi and it worked great. I hope to test it out over 3G some day soon.
*phew*
We’re still not done. There are a lot of little things that I’ve noticed as well.
The device overall is a lot snappier and responsive. Scrolling is smoother and transitions don’t skip or stutter at all. In fact, it feels like how my N900 felt when I first overclocked it. I’ve since overclocked it again and now it absolutely flies.
Holding down a key on the keyboard brings up the symbols associated with that key. I’m sure that some people will be happy to have this and there are others that won’t care at all whatsoever because they’ll never use it. I fall into the latter group.
You can send virtually any file via Bluetooth
And last but certainly not least, the amount of free space in ‘rootfs’ has been vastly increased. With all of my applications reinstalled and all repositories enabled, I still have >80MB of free space remaining.
This is just what I’ve found so far mind you, I’m hoping that tomorrow will bring something new that I haven’t discovered yet.
So tell us, have you installed PR1.2 yet? Did I miss anything? Do you have any other questions? Make yourself heard in the comments section below.
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Kyron has written 18 articles for your enjoyment.
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About: Your favorite blogger's favorite blogger coming at you live from Toronto, Canada. One of the original BMEs and a cell phone fanatic.
